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Legalization of Marijuana Reduces Teenage Use

According to the results of a biannual poll conducted by Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment, teenage marijuana use has not increased since the state legalized the use of recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21. The poll surveyed about 17,000 high school students in Colorado, of which 21.2 percent responded that they used marijuana in the preceding thirty days. This is a slight decrease from the 2011 results of 22 percent. The 2015 survey also indicated that the nationwide average for teen marijuana use is slightly higher than Colorado’s at a rate of 21.7 percent. Yet, contrary to the results of Colorado’s survey, a survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services placed Colorado at the top of the list of states which the highest rate of marijuana use in teenagers between the ages 12 to 17.

Advocates for legalization of marijuana believe that the results in Colorado’s survey prove that the “fears of widespread pot use by minors” in states with legalized cannabis are unwarranted. Yet, others are skeptical about the results. SMART Colorado, an organization that lobbies for stricter marijuana regulations, believes it is “‘deeply concerning” that according to the survey, only 48 percent of students in Colorado view regular marijuana use as a risky behavior.

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The pieces here represent the position and analysis of the individual authors and not those of the Hofstra Bioethics Center or The Gitenstein Institute for Health Law & Policy. Each author is responsible for the accuracy of the citations and substance of the text itself.